There was a knock at my door a few moments ago. The deliveryman for the hospice pharmacy brought medication for my husband. He asked me how my husband was doing. I told him he was much better than a few days ago. This kind man smiled and said, “God answers prayer.”

“Yes, he does,” I replied. He went on to tell me that he was at the door last week when my husband was in great distress. He told me he prayed for him that day. He wanted to know that his prayers were answered. I told him that his prayers indeed were heard.

Also answered were the prayers of many others. I do not stand alone praying for my husband’s health and well-being. There are many believers that stand in the gap praying for us. We Christians pray for one another. Fittingly, we rejoice together when our prayers are answered. Rejoice, my friends, today. Johannes’ condition has improved a lot. Tomorrow is another day, grace for which we still stand in need of your prayers.

Here is how it went: Johannes’ condition had deteriorated, appearing to match the description I’d received from nurses as the beginning of the end, the time when the Alzheimer’s patient no longer can swallow food without choking and fighting for breath. Continuous aspiration of food into the lungs causes aspiration pneumonia, so if choking isn’t fatal, the ensuing pneumonia is. If neither of these fates causes death, starvation finally causes the patient to succumb. If I have misstated the facts in this paragraph, feel free to correct me. This is how I understand what I’ve been told by nurses.

My poem tells about the moments of desperation for me as I watched Johannes choking continuously until his face turned an ugly color. Any longer with an obstructed airway I feel certainly would have rendered him unconscious. At last he breathed, and, exhausted, he fell asleep for many hours. My tears began to flow as soon as he stopped choking. My prayer for Johannes to experience abundant life while he is with me went up to Heaven. I want him to be comforatable enough to enjoy his waking moments. Miraculously, it seemed to me, he woke up the next day almost a different person. His strength had returned. He could swallow. He could eat and had a good appetite. He even spoke with some clarity, and made a few comments reminiscent of his former unique style of wit. My praises rose to the Lord, and a smile curled all the laugh lines in my face the entire day.

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

About Carol Ann Hoel

The new me - Carol Ann. More suitably said, the old me in new circumstances of life. Again. My history has developed in parts and chapters. In person, I am Wife, Mom, Grandma, Author, and Writer, in that order, more or less. Life is good because God is good.

Thank you so very much Carol for your love and blessings, May I never lose your friendship and God’s affection (I often think that God is very biased towards me, but selfishly i hope She will always be, I am so habituated of it that i cant imagine a life without it.)

I think we may be referring to different gods. I believe in Jesus, the Son of God. You call your god a she. The Bible, from which book all my information about God comes, refers to God as Father and Jesus as His Son. What is the name of your god? Blessings to you, my friend…

well hinduism is very similar to Roman and Greek mythology we have God for every thing, starting from wind to life.

I personally believe in one formless, genderless god, i feel more free in bonding with her as mother and daughter.

the province where i live the most famous goddesses are madurga, makali- these two goddesses are saviours of earth and heaven from evil forces, apart from that madurga is nurturing mother. Malaxmi is the goddess of wealth, prosperity and luck. Masaraswati is the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, arts, music etc. then there are Lord Shiva, Ganesha and Narayana.

you can imagine hinduism as a religion which has very very strong resemblance with greek roman mythology because they are of the same period approximately.

so just know that its my personal choice to imagine the formless genderless God as mother 🙂

Christianity, the worship of the God of the Bible, is very different. We have very much specific information about God from His Word. The Bible says there is only one God, and that all others are not god(s). God is greatly offended If we serve or heed another god. This is a serious offense called idolatry. We not only worship God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit – three in ONE), but we also have many wonderful promises from God for protection and provision on this earth, as well as eternal life with Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior. I am so satisfied with Jesus that I’d never think of turning to any other deity, none of which I would believe to be true gods. No other god has the power and majesty of Jesus. No one loves me like Jesus. He is faithful and true, and makes Himself known personally to believers. God demands only faith in Jesus from us. Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross and gave us His righteousness. Believers in the finished work of Jesus on the cross are not condemned, because their sins have been covered by the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus. Their salvation is sure forever. I am thankful for the very personal relationship between Jesus and me, and I know so many, many others who will testify that Jesus treats them with the same great love and provision. God is good. Jesus is LORD. Perhaps someday you will wish to abandon your allegiance to various gods and trust in Jesus, the Savior of the World, God of Heaven and Earth, Creator, Provider, Lover of Trisha. God loves you, Trisha. He knows your sweet heart and desires to save you by granting you faith in Jesus, His Son, blessed forever. Blessings to you, Trisha.

I know that you and me we both worship the same God but we have been taught to believe it in different forms. That belief runs in our very bloods.

Just like you I too will never be able to love God in any other form as much as I love my mother goddesses (especially) otherwise we might have never met in cyberworld, I might have converted and become a nun 🙂 (Chances are almost hundred percent).

Thank you for your visit and kind words, Bonnie. We had a good day today. Johannes could eat even though he was sleepy. Sometimes being sleepy causes him to choke, but today he managed his food well. Blessings to you always…

I can’t begin to imagine what your life is like, and I pray for strength for you to deal with whatever comes your way. My son is a neurogeneticist doing stem cell research at Harvard Med School. His research could have application to Alzheimer’s. I pray for his research every day that he will be instrumental in some way to find answers to this terrible disease. God bless you.

Thank you. I appreciate your visit. I apologize for my late reply. This past week has been a challenge. Alzheimer’s indeed is a dreaded disease. My days are okay. My heart breaks when my husband cannot swallow food. I’m doing what I want to do, and I don’t feel alone. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He’s always here for me. Thank you very much for your prayers. May your son’s research bring about a breakthrough for many diseases. Blessings to you…

Thank you, Christine, for your kind words. Yes, Johannes is doing well still. He has challenges everyday, and he is losing weight. The eventual outcome will be his transferal day from here to see Jesus in person. My prayer is that he will not suffer terribly in the interim. This prayer is as much for me as for Johannes.(I know you understand this part having felt the agony of watching Annie suffer.) I know there will be rewards for all his suffering on this earth. There are Bible verses to support that, and I know that God will answer my prayers as long as He doesn’t have a better plan. I’ll take one day at a time. Never let it be said that I didn’t get what I wanted because I didn’t ask. Blessings to you, Christine…

My dear “friend-via-WordPress” Carol Ann — This is the first time in a while that I’ve had a chance to look at blogs, and yours was the first I clicked on this evening. I am so sorry about the recent ordeal that Johannes has gone through — and that you have suffered along with him. Praise God for the respite that He has granted and that he had a better day when he woke up after the choking episodes. I realize that was several days ago, but I pray he is continuing “an abundant life” with you this week.

What a blessing the pharmacy delivery man was who heard J’s distress and prayed for him on the spot — and was concerned enough to ask later how he was doing! My mother had similar wonderful delivery people when she was very ill, and they were God’s angels who brought much more comfort to her door that just a sack of pills!

One of my favorite intercessory prayers comes from Ephesians 3:14-21 — and I pray it for you and your husband. Verses 20 and 21 in particular came to mind when I read your post just now. God’s answers are indeed greater than our prayers! May He continue to uphold you with His mighty hand during this difficult time. I pray for the most “abundant” possible life that you and Johannes can share together in the days that you have left. Thank you for the wonderful inspiration that you are to me through what you share with us on your blog. I pray you both have a peaceful and restful night. God bless…

I apologize for my late reply. My husband has been doing very well. He has been sleeping nights and being awake most of the daytime hours. For this reason I’ve not had time to post or check out blogs very much. He is eating more and choking very little. I am very thankful to our LORD for His healing, comfort, and strength. I am busier than ever but glad to spend good hours with my husband.

Thank you very much for your prayers and for the scripture reference. I am reading these verses. Praises to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Blessings to you…